Kraft wants Welker to be 'Patriot for life'

Aaron Wilson

05/23/2012

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft would like to work things out with franchise wide receiver Wes Welker.

No long-term deal is imminent, though.

"Well we'd like to see him be a Patriot for life, but it takes two sides," Kraft told NFL Network. "We're just happy he's back in the system. He's a wonderful young man, and a special guy. I think both sides would like to do a deal, but it requires intelligence and putting our team first."

Welker recently claimed that the Patriots lowered their contract offer to him, but he did sign his franchise tender and reported for workouts.

"Anyone can say whatever they want," Kraft said. "He's done a great job for us. We're always trying to do whatever we can do to put our team in the best position to win. That means balancing a lot of things, understanding what the cap is, what the cap growth is, how things fit in the system and we try to have values for every position and every player."